PinstripedBarbarian
@pinstriped.bsky.social
a.k.a. Andy
Freelancer/bard/gamer/autistic/coffeeaddict丨He/They丨Cleffa enthusiast
http://ko-fi.com/pinstripedbarbarian
Pathfinder Infinite Master releases: https://www.pathfinderinfinite.com/browse.php?author=Andrew%20D.%20Geels
Freelancer/bard/gamer/autistic/coffeeaddict丨He/They丨Cleffa enthusiast
http://ko-fi.com/pinstripedbarbarian
Pathfinder Infinite Master releases: https://www.pathfinderinfinite.com/browse.php?author=Andrew%20D.%20Geels
As a BRD main, knowing the way numbers shake out for jobs, 90% of the roulettes or PFs I join leave me sad/scared/proud/ashamed because I wind up top DPS aggro.
Raiding with my static keeps me humble, as they at least keep me at the bottom of the totem pole where rDps is designed to be.
Raiding with my static keeps me humble, as they at least keep me at the bottom of the totem pole where rDps is designed to be.
December 22, 2025 at 9:58 PM
As a BRD main, knowing the way numbers shake out for jobs, 90% of the roulettes or PFs I join leave me sad/scared/proud/ashamed because I wind up top DPS aggro.
Raiding with my static keeps me humble, as they at least keep me at the bottom of the totem pole where rDps is designed to be.
Raiding with my static keeps me humble, as they at least keep me at the bottom of the totem pole where rDps is designed to be.
My WoL also shares my birthday. There's enough personal reaction / self-insert-energy that it sort of just feels right that way.
December 22, 2025 at 9:50 PM
My WoL also shares my birthday. There's enough personal reaction / self-insert-energy that it sort of just feels right that way.
(Plus a large amount of game publishers don't care about gameplay OR story and will force games to be made cheaply and quickly for the sake of profits. All media nowadays has some of this, but games suffer a bit more as they aren't universally viewed with artistic reverence like the others are)
December 22, 2025 at 9:48 PM
(Plus a large amount of game publishers don't care about gameplay OR story and will force games to be made cheaply and quickly for the sake of profits. All media nowadays has some of this, but games suffer a bit more as they aren't universally viewed with artistic reverence like the others are)
Like you said, we're trained to expect story to behave a certain way by thousands of years of books / plays / movies. We aren't used to stories where we uncover what's happening from an "inside" perspective. Meanwhile, (most) games have to be engaging in how they play, which also distracts us.
December 22, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Like you said, we're trained to expect story to behave a certain way by thousands of years of books / plays / movies. We aren't used to stories where we uncover what's happening from an "inside" perspective. Meanwhile, (most) games have to be engaging in how they play, which also distracts us.
Even in less personal-roles, even in games where player decisions "don't matter" for the plot, games rely on players to move the story forward. Players' agency can easily conflict with the story's pacing. Games just have hurdles other media don't, and we're not used to handling them as much yet.
December 22, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Even in less personal-roles, even in games where player decisions "don't matter" for the plot, games rely on players to move the story forward. Players' agency can easily conflict with the story's pacing. Games just have hurdles other media don't, and we're not used to handling them as much yet.
This isn't to say great stories can't be told through games or that games automatically hinder stories told through them. Involving the audience directly in the story has huge potential and can give players a more personal experience. It just lacks thousands of years of development that books have.
December 22, 2025 at 9:31 PM
This isn't to say great stories can't be told through games or that games automatically hinder stories told through them. Involving the audience directly in the story has huge potential and can give players a more personal experience. It just lacks thousands of years of development that books have.
Telling a game's story is tricky in part because games are fairly unique among storytelling media in that they need the audience to be participatory. A book or movie can say "this happened to them" but since games present themselves to players they sorta shift to "this happened to you" which is hard
December 22, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Telling a game's story is tricky in part because games are fairly unique among storytelling media in that they need the audience to be participatory. A book or movie can say "this happened to them" but since games present themselves to players they sorta shift to "this happened to you" which is hard
Obviously the meaning behind the intricate and complex world of Spirited Away and its many beings with wildly different forms all shown to us from the perspective of a young girl was "kill on sight"
December 22, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Obviously the meaning behind the intricate and complex world of Spirited Away and its many beings with wildly different forms all shown to us from the perspective of a young girl was "kill on sight"
They don't even want other people to slow down with the murder long enough to think. They already know they don't care, but if other folks reflect a bit then either 1. they'll be painted in a bad light, or even worse 2. they might not be able to kill things as much.
December 22, 2025 at 4:48 AM
They don't even want other people to slow down with the murder long enough to think. They already know they don't care, but if other folks reflect a bit then either 1. they'll be painted in a bad light, or even worse 2. they might not be able to kill things as much.
Arcadion is just a jaded hero beating up a bunch of uppity children.
We've literally saved multiple worlds from doom, including theirs, and they look at us and think "They killed gods and demons and the personification of nihilism and despair, but they haven't met ME!"
And WE'RE the upstarts???
We've literally saved multiple worlds from doom, including theirs, and they look at us and think "They killed gods and demons and the personification of nihilism and despair, but they haven't met ME!"
And WE'RE the upstarts???
December 21, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Arcadion is just a jaded hero beating up a bunch of uppity children.
We've literally saved multiple worlds from doom, including theirs, and they look at us and think "They killed gods and demons and the personification of nihilism and despair, but they haven't met ME!"
And WE'RE the upstarts???
We've literally saved multiple worlds from doom, including theirs, and they look at us and think "They killed gods and demons and the personification of nihilism and despair, but they haven't met ME!"
And WE'RE the upstarts???
Fun fact, that fight just takes place in her basement. She supplied all the... uh... tools.
December 18, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Fun fact, that fight just takes place in her basement. She supplied all the... uh... tools.
If it DOES turn out she's trying to "bring back" Persephone (Iifa Tree or not) from the aetherial sea, and the Winterers are her way of working against / independent from the other Ascians while doing so, it would be a great parallel.
And I'd have made a godlike prediction from this amount of info.
And I'd have made a godlike prediction from this amount of info.
December 17, 2025 at 10:23 AM
If it DOES turn out she's trying to "bring back" Persephone (Iifa Tree or not) from the aetherial sea, and the Winterers are her way of working against / independent from the other Ascians while doing so, it would be a great parallel.
And I'd have made a godlike prediction from this amount of info.
And I'd have made a godlike prediction from this amount of info.
And even if Persephone doesn't get used as a name anywhere, Halmarut being awol this whole time would make so much sense if she was Demeter holding a big old grudge against Hades. The fact that the Iifa Tree combines horticulture and fucking around with the aetherial sea just fits super cleanly.
December 17, 2025 at 10:23 AM
And even if Persephone doesn't get used as a name anywhere, Halmarut being awol this whole time would make so much sense if she was Demeter holding a big old grudge against Hades. The fact that the Iifa Tree combines horticulture and fucking around with the aetherial sea just fits super cleanly.
I'm really digging this idea. If nothing else, I think the connections between Halmarut and Demeter are super strong (thanks to Crunch for pointing out Demeter as an option in the first place). Looking deeper at FF9 themes and subjects, I think the Iifa Tree could very well be a big plot point.
December 17, 2025 at 10:17 AM
I'm really digging this idea. If nothing else, I think the connections between Halmarut and Demeter are super strong (thanks to Crunch for pointing out Demeter as an option in the first place). Looking deeper at FF9 themes and subjects, I think the Iifa Tree could very well be a big plot point.
What if the Iifa Tree stopping souls from going to the aetherial sea eventually became the basis of the Endless? If Halmarut focused on the 9th, she could have pushed the whole thing as a way to restart her research / Project / whatever. Or just put it to 'good use' as far as Ascians go.
December 17, 2025 at 10:17 AM
What if the Iifa Tree stopping souls from going to the aetherial sea eventually became the basis of the Endless? If Halmarut focused on the 9th, she could have pushed the whole thing as a way to restart her research / Project / whatever. Or just put it to 'good use' as far as Ascians go.
What if Halmarut started this Persephone Project to create the Iifa Tree to gather souls for an experiment / to use as fuel / whatever, and Emet stopped it all because... well that's a really fucking bad thing to do. And ever since, she's hated him. So much that she never worked with the Unsundered.
December 17, 2025 at 10:17 AM
What if Halmarut started this Persephone Project to create the Iifa Tree to gather souls for an experiment / to use as fuel / whatever, and Emet stopped it all because... well that's a really fucking bad thing to do. And ever since, she's hated him. So much that she never worked with the Unsundered.
The Iifa Tree that captured souls before they could go back to the soul cycle.
The Iifa Tree that spread the Mist across the continent and corrupts life.
The Iifa Tree specifically mentioned by a lala in Living Memory.
The Iifa Tree that leads to the fight with Necron.
The Iifa Tree that spread the Mist across the continent and corrupts life.
The Iifa Tree specifically mentioned by a lala in Living Memory.
The Iifa Tree that leads to the fight with Necron.
December 17, 2025 at 10:10 AM
The Iifa Tree that captured souls before they could go back to the soul cycle.
The Iifa Tree that spread the Mist across the continent and corrupts life.
The Iifa Tree specifically mentioned by a lala in Living Memory.
The Iifa Tree that leads to the fight with Necron.
The Iifa Tree that spread the Mist across the continent and corrupts life.
The Iifa Tree specifically mentioned by a lala in Living Memory.
The Iifa Tree that leads to the fight with Necron.
And right now we're in FF9 land. We just went to the Mist Continent. We visited a place full of dwarves (lalas).
You know what place in FF9 is on the Mist Continent with a bunch of dwarves AND has ties to both plants (Halmarut) and souls (Emet)?
The Iifa Tree.
You know what place in FF9 is on the Mist Continent with a bunch of dwarves AND has ties to both plants (Halmarut) and souls (Emet)?
The Iifa Tree.
December 17, 2025 at 10:04 AM
And right now we're in FF9 land. We just went to the Mist Continent. We visited a place full of dwarves (lalas).
You know what place in FF9 is on the Mist Continent with a bunch of dwarves AND has ties to both plants (Halmarut) and souls (Emet)?
The Iifa Tree.
You know what place in FF9 is on the Mist Continent with a bunch of dwarves AND has ties to both plants (Halmarut) and souls (Emet)?
The Iifa Tree.
Maybe Persephone is another Ancient that Halmarut was close to that Emet 'stole' from her (seduced or killed or otherwise removed from H's life).
But I'm kinda liking the idea of a "Persephone Project" that Halmarut started and Emet either took over or shut down. And that caused her eternal grudge.
But I'm kinda liking the idea of a "Persephone Project" that Halmarut started and Emet either took over or shut down. And that caused her eternal grudge.
December 17, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Maybe Persephone is another Ancient that Halmarut was close to that Emet 'stole' from her (seduced or killed or otherwise removed from H's life).
But I'm kinda liking the idea of a "Persephone Project" that Halmarut started and Emet either took over or shut down. And that caused her eternal grudge.
But I'm kinda liking the idea of a "Persephone Project" that Halmarut started and Emet either took over or shut down. And that caused her eternal grudge.
Halmarut is almost definitely Demeter.
She's the lead phytobiologist (goddess of the harvest)
She's a "Winterer" (goddess who brings about winter)
and she's an Ascian that didn't work with Emet (goddess who held a grudge against Hades)
I'm guessing 7.5 is gonna namedrop Persephone as a lead to 8.0
She's the lead phytobiologist (goddess of the harvest)
She's a "Winterer" (goddess who brings about winter)
and she's an Ascian that didn't work with Emet (goddess who held a grudge against Hades)
I'm guessing 7.5 is gonna namedrop Persephone as a lead to 8.0
December 17, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Halmarut is almost definitely Demeter.
She's the lead phytobiologist (goddess of the harvest)
She's a "Winterer" (goddess who brings about winter)
and she's an Ascian that didn't work with Emet (goddess who held a grudge against Hades)
I'm guessing 7.5 is gonna namedrop Persephone as a lead to 8.0
She's the lead phytobiologist (goddess of the harvest)
She's a "Winterer" (goddess who brings about winter)
and she's an Ascian that didn't work with Emet (goddess who held a grudge against Hades)
I'm guessing 7.5 is gonna namedrop Persephone as a lead to 8.0